Method of Monitoring Gear Grinding Operations

ABSTRACT

A method for monitoring a grinding operation using a computer system is provided. The method includes determining, by the computer system, a first plurality of operating characteristics associated with a pre-grinding operation. The method also includes determining, by the computer system, a second plurality of operating characteristics associated with the grinding operation. The method further includes determining, by the computer system, a set of operating conditions based on the first plurality of operating characteristics with and the second plurality of operating characteristics. Moreover, the method includes comparing, by the computer system, the set of operating conditions with a set of predetermined operation conditions.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to a method of monitoringgrinding operations, and more particularly, to a method of monitoringgear grinding operations.

BACKGROUND

There are many operations involved in the production of gears. Some ofthe operations may include turning, boring, bobbing, heat treating, andgrinding. Turning is the operation where metal is removed from an outerdiameter of a rotating workpiece. The workpiece is typicallycylindrical. Turning is used to reduce the diameter of the workpiece,usually to a specified dimension. Turning may be used to create a gearblank.

Boring is the operation where a hole (i.e., a bore) may be opened in themiddle of a gear blank, e.g., by rotating the tool or the workpiece.Hobbing is the operation where teeth are cut into a gear blank using ahob. Typically, the cutter and the gear blank are rotated at the sametime to transfer the profile of the hob onto the gear blank. Heattreating of gears is often carried out as a multistep operation. Thefirst step may involve a controlled heating process in a controlledatmosphere. Typically, the next step may involve a subsequent cooling ofthe gear in its solid state. Heat treating plays an important role inthe production process of a gear because it imparts qualities likestrength, hardness, and toughness to the gear.

In order to improve efficiencies and accuracy in the production ofgears, various grinding operation characteristics are monitored. Datafrom monitoring equipment may be collected, processed, and compared to astandard in order to determine any corrective measures that may bedesired or required.

One method of monitoring the grinding operation characteristics isdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,457,715 (the '715 patent) issued to Bhatejaet al. The '715 patent describes a method for monitoring characteristicsof grinding tools and grinding system behavior in a production grindingprocess. However, since the method focuses on monitoring the grindingtools and system during the grinding operation, the method does not takeinto consideration operation characteristics of any of the pre-grindingoperations, such as turning, boring, bobbing, and heat treating. Becausethe pre-grinding operations may affect the efficiency and accuracy ofthe grinding process, the efficiency and accuracy of the grindingprocess may be improved by monitoring one or more of the pre-grindingoperations.

The disclosed method is directed to overcoming one or more of theproblems set forth above and/or other deficiencies in the art.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a method formonitoring a grinding operation using a computer system. The method mayinclude determining, by the computer system, a first plurality ofoperating characteristics associated with a pre-grinding operation. Themethod may also include determining, by the computer system, a secondplurality of operating characteristics associated with the grindingoperation. The method may further include determining, by the computersystem, a set of operating conditions based on the first plurality ofoperating characteristics with and the second plurality of operatingcharacteristics. Moreover, the method may include comparing, by thecomputer system, the set of operating conditions with a set ofpredetermined operation conditions.

In another aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a system formonitoring a grinding operation. The system may include a processor andmemory coupled to the processor. The processor may be configured todetermine a first plurality of operating characteristics associated witha pre-grinding operation. The processor may also be configured todetermine a second plurality of operating characteristics associatedwith the grinding operation. The processor may further be configured todetermine a set of operating conditions based on the first plurality ofoperating characteristics with and the second plurality of operatingcharacteristics. Moreover, the processor may be configured to comparethe set of operating conditions with a set of predetermined operationconditions.

In a further aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a method formonitoring a grinding operation using a computer system. The method mayinclude determining, by the computer system, a first plurality ofoperating characteristics associated with a pre-grinding operation. Themethod may also include determining, by the computer system, a secondplurality of operating characteristics associated with the grindingoperation. The method may further include determining, by the computersystem, a set of operating conditions based on the first plurality ofoperating characteristics with and the second plurality of operatingcharacteristics. Moreover, the method may include comparing, by thecomputer system, the set of operating conditions with a set ofpredetermined operation conditions. The method may further includeproviding an indication, by the computer system, whether the grindingoperation is a standard grinding process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for monitoringa grinding operation;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating another exemplary process formonitoring a grinding operation;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary computing system suitable forimplementing embodiments consistent with the disclosure; and

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a further exemplary process formonitoring a grinding operation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the present exemplaryembodiments of the disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numberswill be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of an exemplary process of monitoring a geargrinding operation consistent with certain disclosed embodiments. In theembodiment as shown, a state of incoming material may be determined atstage 100. For example, the incoming material may be determined to bebar stock, forged, etc. One or more pre-grinding operationscharacteristics and grinding operation characteristics may be determinedat stage 102. The pre-grinding operations characteristic(s) and/orgrinding operation characteristic(s) may be determined based on thestate of the incoming material determined in stage 100. The one or morepre-grinding operations characteristics may include turning parameters104, hobbing parameters 106, boring parameters 108, and heat treatingparameters 110. The grinding operation characteristics may includegrinding parameters 112, dressing parameters 114, wheel parameters 116,gear parameters 118, system variations 120, and cost information 122.Turning parameters 104 may include cutting speed, feed of a turningtool, and depth of cut. Hobbing parameters 106 may include cycle time,approach and overrun distances, hob setting angle, feed rate, a numberof starts, and feed depth. Boring parameters 108 may include feed of adrilling (boring or cutting) tool, and radius of the drilling (orboring) tool. Heat treating parameters 110 may include temperature,cooling rate, and heating time. One or more of turning parameters 104,hobbing parameters 106, boring parameters 108, and/or heat treatingparameters 110 may be supplied by the operator of the grindingoperation, or may be provided by a third party company that maintains anappropriate database containing such information, or may be acombination of operator and third party input.

Grinding parameters 112 may include feed of a grinding wheel, infeed ofthe grinding wheel, and wheel velocity. Dressing parameters 114 mayinclude speed ratio, contact ratio, and infeed of a dressing tool (notshown). Wheel parameters 116 may include diameter, grit type, grit size,porosity, grade, and/or other wheel specification parameters. Gear orpart parameters 118 may include part number, pitch line runout (PLRO),index variations, and lead variations. System variations 120 may includestock division error, axial tilt on fixture, and alignment error. Costinformation 122 may include tool pricing information and machineoverhead. One or more of grinding parameters 112, dressing parameters114, wheel parameters 116, gear parameters 118, system variations 120,and/or cost information 122 may be supplied by the operator of thegrinding operation, or may be provided by a third party company thatmaintains an appropriate database containing such information, or may bea combination of operator and third party input.

At stage 130, one or more operating conditions 130 associated with thegrinding operation may be determined. Operating conditions 130 mayinclude a specific material removal rate 132, a wheel wear information134, a specific energy and a power associated with the grindingoperation 136, a surface finish information 138, a gear profiledeviation 140, and a cycle time 142. Operating conditions 130 may bedetermined based on one or more operating characteristics determined atstage 102. In addition, operating conditions 130 may be determined basedon information contained in a gear database 154. For example, one ormore operating conditions 130 may be determined based on gear shapeinformation contained in gear database 154. In an alternativeembodiment, operating conditions 130 may include other informationassociated with the grinding operation as desired. One or more ofspecific material removal rate 132, wheel wear information 134, specificenergy and power associated with the grinding operation 136, surfacefinish information 138, gear profile deviation 140, and/or cycle time142 may be determined by appropriate algorithms. For example, specificmaterial removal rate 132 may be determined by dividing an amount ofmaterial removed by a unit of time. For another example, specific energy(and power) associated with the grinding operation 136 may be determinedby dividing an amount of energy (or power) consumed in a specific timeperiod by a volume of a workpiece subjected to the grinding operation.

At stage 150, one or more predetermined operating conditions 152 may beprovided. Predetermined operating conditions 152 may include a grindingratio, a burn threshold, a machine kinematic (i.e., movement of themachine during machine operation), a dressing frequency, and surfacefinish information. Predetermined operating conditions 152 may beprovided by an operator operating the grinding operation, or may beprovided by gear database 154. Gear database 154 may include one or morepredetermined operating conditions 152 for various gears. Gear database154 may also include other information associated with the variousgears, such as gear shape, gear type, material, and cost information.Gear database 154 may be created by the operator of the grindingoperation, or may be provided by a third party company that maintains anappropriate gear database, or may be a combination of operator and thirdparty input.

At stage 160, one or more operating conditions 130 may be compared withone or more predetermined operating conditions 152 and/or informationstored in gear database 154. At stage 162, results of the comparison maybe presented to an operator operating the grinding operation. Theresults may include an amount of materials removed per grinding cycle,any burns that occurred on a gear being ground, a cycle time, a surfacefinish of the gear, and a profile deviation of the gear, if any. Theoperator may select more or less results of the comparison to bepresented. In one embodiment, the results may be displayed to theoperator on an interface (not shown). In another embodiment, the resultsmay be displayed on the interface as a list. In yet another embodiment,the operator may specify thresholds for any of the results of thecomparison, such that only those results that exceed or fall below thethresholds are displayed to the operator.

At stage 164, it may be determined whether the quality of the gearproduced by the grinding operation is acceptable based on the results ofthe comparison. If the quality of the gear is acceptable, the monitoringprocess ends. If the quality of the gear is not acceptable, at stage166, the grinding operation may be optimized. Optimization may includeoptimizing one or more operating conditions 130. Optimization ofoperating conditions 130 may be accomplished by adjusting one or moreone or more pre-grinding operations characteristics and grindingoperation characteristics. In the embodiment as shown, optimizedgrinding parameters 116 and dressing parameters 114 may be presented tothe operator at stage 168. In an alternate embodiment, other optimizedpre-grinding operations characteristics and/or grinding operationcharacteristics may be presented. Similar to stage 162, the optimizedpre-grinding operations characteristics and/or grinding operationcharacteristics may be displayed to the operator via an interface.

It is contemplated that turning parameters 104, hobbing parameters 106,boring parameters 108, heat treating parameters 110, grinding parameters112, dressing parameters 114, wheel parameters 116, gear parameters 118,system variations 120, cost information 122, operating conditions 130,and predetermined operating conditions 152 may be stored in a database,such as database 330 (referring to FIG. 3).

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of another exemplary process of monitoring a geargrinding operation consistent with certain disclosed embodiments. In theembodiment as shown, data associated with previous grinding cycles maybe retrieved at stage 202. The data may include one or more turningparameters 104, hobbing parameters 106, boring parameters 108, heattreating parameters 110, grinding parameters 112, dressing parameters114, wheel parameters 116, gear parameters 118, system variations 120,cost information 122, operating conditions 130, and predeterminedoperating conditions 152. At stage 204, baseline process data may bedetermined. The baseline process data may be used in determining whethera grinding operation is standard (e.g., regular) or abnormal (i.e.,deviates from the regular process).

The baseline process data may be set prior to the start of the grindingcycle at stage 206. At stage 208, various pre-grinding operationscharacteristics, grinding operation characteristics, and operatingconditions 130 associated with the grinding operation may be determined.The characteristics and operating conditions determined at stage 208 maybe compared to the baseline process data at stage 210. The result of thecomparison may assist the operator in determining whether the grindingcycle is standard or abnormal. If the grinding cycle is standard, thegrinding cycle continues at stage 212. If the grinding cycle isabnormal, the nature of the abnormality is determined at stage 214.

In one embodiment, a warning threshold may be established such that ifthe warning threshold is exceeded, a warning is indicated at step 216.For example, an operator of the grinding operation may specify a warningthreshold with respect to any one of turning parameters 104, hobbingparameters 106, boring parameters 108, heat treating parameters 110,grinding parameters 112, dressing parameters 114, wheel parameters 116,gear parameters 118, system variations 120, cost information 122,operating conditions 130. The warning indication may consist of a visualindication, a light pattern indication, or a combination thereof. Whilea single warning threshold is being discussed, multiple warningthresholds may be set. At stage 218, an alarm may be set off if burningoccurs on a gear being produced.

Once the nature of the abnormality is determined, at stage 220, the dataassociated with the abnormal grinding cycle is stored in a database,such as database 330 (referring to FIG. 3). In one embodiment, the dataassociated with the abnormal grinding cycle may be processed at stage222 to provide statistics regarding abnormal processes. The statisticsmay be utilized by operators for future improvement on the grindingprocess, including improvement to equipment used during the grindingprocess. The statistics may also be helpful in identifying one or moreparameters that may have more impact on the grinding process, thushelping the operators to improve the grinding process.

In one embodiment, after the data associated with the abnormal grindingcycle is logged, the grinding process may pause at stage 224 and waitfor a corrective action to be taken. The corrective action may depend onthe nature of the abnormality. For example, if the gear was burnt, thecorrective action may be to improve run-out on the fixture holding thegear. For another example, if the gear profile deviates too greatly fromthat of the baseline process data, the corrective action may be toadjust the position of one or more of the turning tool, boring tool, thedressing tool, and/or the grinding tool. It will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that the corrective action may be taken with respectto any tool and/or parameters involved during the pre-grinding and thegrinding operations.

In one embodiment, the corrective action may be taken automatically by acomputing system such as computing system 300 (referring to FIG. 3) thathelps to implement the monitoring process. In this embodiment, at stage228, the computing system applies the corrective action based on thenature of the abnormality. In the embodiment as shown in FIG. 2, thecorrective action consists of adjusting grinding parameters 112.

In an alternative embodiment, the corrective action may be takenmanually. In this embodiment, the operator may specify the correctiveaction to be performed at stage 226. Subsequently, the corrective actionmay be performed at stage 228 according to the operator's instructions.After the corrective action is performed, the grinding cycle may end atstage 230.

In yet another embodiment, the corrective action may be takensemi-automatically. For example, an operator may configure themonitoring process such that certain abnormalities may be addressedautomatically by the computing system and certain abnormalities may behandled by the operator.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary computing system 300 that may be used toimplement embodiments of the disclosure. The components and arrangement,however, may be varied within principles of the present disclosure.

Data processing or computing system 300 includes a number of components,such as a central processing unit or a processor 305, a memory 310, aninput/output (I/O) device(s) 325, a nonvolatile storage device 320, anda database 330. System 300 can be implemented in various ways. Forexample, an integrated platform (such as a workstation, personalcomputer, laptop, etc.) may comprise processor 305, memory 310,nonvolatile storage 320, and I/O devices 325. In such a configuration,components 305, 310, 320, and 325 may connect through a local businterface and access database 330 (shown implemented as a separatedatabase system) via an external connection. This connection may beimplemented through a direct communication link, a local area network(LAN), a wide area network (WAN) and/or other suitable connections. Insome embodiments, database 330 may be an embedded database, such thatcomponents 305, 310, 320, and 325 may access database 330 through aretrieval library (not shown).

Processor 305 may be one or more known processing devices, such as amicroprocessor from the Pentium™ family manufactured by Intel™ or theTurion™ family manufactured by AMD™. Memory 310 may be one or morestorage devices configured to store information used by processor 305 toperform certain functions related to embodiments of the presentdisclosure. Storage 320 may be a volatile or non-volatile, magnetic,semiconductor, tape, optical, removable, non-removable, or other type ofstorage device or computer-readable medium. In one embodiment consistentwith the disclosure, memory 310 includes one or more programs orsubprograms 315 loaded from storage 320 or elsewhere that, when executedby processor 305, perform various procedures, operations, or processesconsistent with the present disclosure. These components may also beembodied in a computer-readable storage memory containing instructionsthat, when executed by a processor, such as processor 305, performmethods as described above.

Methods, systems, and articles of manufacture consistent with thepresent disclosure are not limited to separate programs or computersconfigured to perform dedicated tasks. For example, memory 310 may beconfigured with a program 315 that performs several functions whenexecuted by processor 305. For example, program 315 may containinstructions for carrying out the exemplary monitoring processes ofFIGS. 1-2 and 4. Moreover, processor 305 may execute one or moreprograms located remotely from system 300. For example, system 300 mayaccess one or more remote programs that, when executed, performfunctions related to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Memory 310 may be also be configured with an operating system (notshown) that performs several functions well-known in the art whenexecuted by processor 305. By way of example, the operating system maybe Microsoft Windows™, Unix™, Linux™, an Apple Computers operatingsystem, Personal Digital Assistant operating system such as MicrosoftCE™, or other operating system. The choice of operating system, and evento the use of an operating system, is not critical to the disclosure.

I/O device(s) 325 may comprise one or more input/output devices thatallow data to be received and/or transmitted by system 300. For example,I/O device 325 may include one or more input devices, such as akeyboard, touch screen, mouse, and the like, that enable data to beinput from a member, such as concept information, status labels,database identifiers, etc. Further, I/O device 325 may include one ormore output devices, such as a display screen, CRT monitor, LCD monitor,plasma display, printer, speaker devices, and the like, that enable datato be output or presented to a member. I/O device 325 may also includeone or more digital and/or analog communication input/output devicesthat allow computing system 300 to communicate with other machines anddevices. System 300 may input data from external machines and devicesand output data to external machines and devices via I/O device 325. Inone embodiment, I/O device 325 may include an interface (not shown) toreceive inputs from the operators. The configuration and number of inputand/or output devices incorporated in I/O device 325 are not critical tothe disclosure.

System 300 may also be communicatively connected to a database 330.Database 330 may comprise one or more databases that store informationand are accessed and/or managed through system 300. By way of example,database 330 may be an Oracle™ database, a Sybase™ database, a DB2database, or other relational database. Database 330 may include, forexample, one or more repositories 115 that store turning parameters 104,hobbing parameters 106, boring parameters 108, heat treating parameters110, grinding parameters 112, dressing parameters 114, wheel parameters116, gear parameters 118, system variations 120, cost information 122,operating conditions 130, and predetermined operating conditions 152,previous data collected at stage 202, baseline process data 204, datacollected at stage 220, and statistics processed at stage 222. Database330 may also include corrective actions to be taken with respect tovarious abnormalities. Systems and methods of the present disclosure,however, are not limited to separate databases or even to the use of adatabase.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The disclosed method of monitoring a grinding operation may beapplicable to any production operation where a grinder is used. Whilediscussed with specific reference to the production of gears, thoseskilled in the art would appreciate that the monitoring process may beused in the production of other workpieces. The disclosed method ofmonitoring a grinding operation may increase the efficiency and accuracyof the overall production operation. For example, the ability todetermine surface integrity issues due to grinding wheel conditionbefore a subsequent workpiece is processed may allow the grinding wheelto be reconditioned without risk damaging the subsequent workpiece. Foranother example, the ability to monitor upstream dimensional variationduring the grinding operation to continuously improve the efficiency ofthe operation by identifying statistical treads in the dimensionalvariation that may help to highlight problem areas associated with thegrinding operation. As a further example, the disclosed method ofmonitoring may help to improve throughput and reduce processing cost byminimizing costs associated with the inspection process and byminimizing the time delay associated with the inspection process.Exemplary embodiments of the method of monitoring a grinding operationwill now be described.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary process 400 for monitoring a geargrinding operation. In the embodiment as shown, at stage 410, process400 determines a first plurality of operating characteristics associatedwith a pre-grinding operation. The first plurality of operatingcharacteristics may include one or more of turning parameters 104,hobbing parameters 106, boring parameters 108, and heat treatingparameters 110. At stage 420, process 400 may determine a secondplurality of operating characteristics associated with a grindingoperation. The second plurality of operating characteristics may includeone or more of grinding parameters 112, dressing parameters 114, wheelparameters 116, gear parameters 118, system variations 120, and costinformation 122. It is contemplated that the first plurality ofoperating characteristics associated with the pre-grinding operation mayinclude more or less parameters, if appropriate and/or necessary.Similarly, the second plurality of operating characteristics associatedwith the grinding operation may include more or less parameters, ifappropriate and/or necessary.

At stage 430, process 400 may determine a set of operating conditions.The set of operating conditions may include operating conditions 130associated with the grinding operation, such as specific materialremoval rate 132, wheel wear information 134, specific energy and powerassociated with the grinding operation 136, surface finish information138, gear profile deviation 140, and cycle time 142. The set ofoperating conditions may be determined based on one or more operatingcharacteristics determined at stages 410 and 420. In addition,information contained in gear database 154 may be used in thedetermination at stage 430.

Process 400 may compare the set of operating conditions with a set ofpredetermined operating conditions 152 at stage 440. The set ofpredetermined operating conditions 152 may be specified by an operatorof the grinding operation or may be obtained from gear database 154 thatcontain known information associated with various gears. Results of thecomparison may assist the operator in determining whether the grindingoperation produces acceptable gears. Results of the comparison may alsoassist the operator in improving the grinding operation if the gearsproduced are not acceptable. Results of the comparison may furtherassist the operator in identifying which, in any, of the operatingcharacteristics has more influence over the overall grinding operation.

In one embodiment, process 400 may end after the results of thecomparison are obtained. In another embodiment, process 400 may providean indication of whether the grinding operation is a standard grindingprocess at stage 450. For example, process 400 may present the resultsof the comparison to the operator. For another example, process 400 mayindicate on an interface that the grinding process is standard orabnormal by displaying text. Alternatively, a warning threshold may beestablished such that if the warning threshold is exceeded, a warning isprovided. The warning may be provided visually, audibly, or acombination thereof.

In another embodiment, after the results of the comparison are obtained,process 400 may optimize the grinding process by adjusting one or moreone or more pre-grinding operations characteristics and grindingoperation characteristics.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the method of monitoring agrinding process. Other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled inthe art from consideration of the specification and practice of thedisclosed method of monitoring a grinding process. It is intended thatthe specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with atrue scope being indicated by the following claims and theirequivalents.

1. A method of monitoring a grinding operation using a computer system,comprising: determining, by the computer system, a first plurality ofoperating characteristics associated with a pre-grinding operation;determining, by the computer system, a second plurality of operatingcharacteristics associated with the grinding operation; determining, bythe computer system, a set of operating conditions based on the firstplurality of operating characteristics and the second plurality ofoperating characteristics; and comparing, by the computer system, theset of operating conditions with a set of predetermined operatingconditions.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the pre-grinding operationincludes at least one of a turning operation, a boring operation, ahobbing operation, or a heat-treating operation.
 3. The method of claim2, wherein the first plurality of operating characteristics includes atleast one of turning parameters, hobbing parameters, boring parameters,or heat treating parameters.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein theturning parameters includes at least one of a cutting speed, a feed of aturning tool, or a depth of cut, and the hobbing parameters includes atleast one of a cycle time, approach and overrun distances, a hob settingangle, a feed rate, a number of starts, or a feed depth.
 5. The methodof claim 3, wherein the boring parameters includes at least one of afeed of a cutting tool, or a radius of the cutting tool, and the heattreating parameters includes at least one of a temperature, coolingrate, or a heating time.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the secondplurality of operating characteristics includes at least one of grindingparameters, dressing parameters, part parameters, wheel parameters, gearparameters, system variations, or a cost information.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, wherein the grinding parameters includes at least one of a feedof a grinding wheel, an infeed of the grinding wheel, or a wheelvelocity, the dressing parameters includes at least one of a speedratio, a contact ratio, or infeed of a dressing tool, and the partparameters includes at least one of a part number, a pitch line runout,index variations, or lead variations.
 8. The method of claim 6, whereinthe system variations includes at least one of a stock division error,an axial tilt on fixture, or an alignment error, and the costinformation includes at least one of a tool pricing information, or amachine overhead information.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the setof operation conditions includes at least one of a grinding ratio, aburn threshold, a machine kinematic, a dressing frequency, or a surfacefinish calculation.
 10. The method of claim 1, further includesdetermining, by the computer system, a third plurality of operatingcharacteristics associated with the grinding operation.
 11. The methodof claim 10, wherein, the third plurality of operating characteristicsincludes at least one of a material removal rate, a burn profile, asurface finish information, or a profile deviation.
 12. The method ofclaim 10, further comprising: determining, by the computer system,whether the grinding operation produces acceptable gears based on thethird plurality of operating characteristics; and optimizing thegrinding operation if the grinding operation do not produce acceptablegears.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein optimizing includesoptimizing one or more of the first plurality of operatingcharacteristics, second plurality of operating characteristics, or thirdplurality of operating characteristics.
 14. A system for monitoring agrinding operation, the system comprising: a memory; and a processorcoupled to the memory, the processor being configured to: determine afirst plurality of operating characteristics associated with apre-grinding operation, determine a second plurality of operatingcharacteristics associated with the grinding operation, determine a setof operating conditions based on the first plurality of operatingcharacteristics and the second plurality of operating characteristics,and compare the set of operating conditions with a set of predeterminedoperating conditions.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the processoris further configured to determine a third plurality of operatingcharacteristics associated with the grinding operation.
 16. The systemof claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to: determinewhether the grinding operation produces acceptable gears based on thethird plurality of operating characteristics; and optimize the grindingoperation if the grinding operation does not produce acceptable gears.17. A method of monitoring a grinding operation using a computer system,comprising: determining, by the computer system, a first plurality ofoperating characteristics associated with a pre-grinding operation;determining, by the computer system, a second plurality of operatingcharacteristics associated with the grinding operation; determining, bythe computer system, a set of operating conditions based on the firstplurality of operating characteristics and the second plurality ofoperating characteristics; comparing, by the computer system, the set ofoperating conditions with a set of predetermined operating conditions;and providing an indication, by the computer system, whether thegrinding operation is a standard grinding process.
 18. The method ofclaim 17, wherein if the grinding operation is not a standard grindingprocess, providing an indication includes at least one of sounding analarm, or providing visual warning signals.
 19. The method of claim 18,further includes adjusting one or more of the first plurality ofoperating characteristics and the second plurality of operatingcharacteristics.
 20. The method of claim 17, wherein if the grindingoperation is not a standard grinding process, ceasing the grindingoperation.